A Book Blog for Speculative Fiction, Graphic Novels… and more!

Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads

Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I round up what I’ve read since the last update and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.

Received for Review

A lot of exciting new arrivals this week! And actually, as I’m putting together this post in advance, I’m also prepping for an upcoming vacation (in fact, by the time this goes live I should already be at my destination) so you can be sure a bunch of these will also be coming along with me on my road trip! Huge thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received, and for more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages!

Ocean of Storms by Christopher Mari and Jeremy K. Brown– The BiblioSanctum is going to be participating in Sci-Fi Month again this November, and I’ve already been working on lining some exciting books and giveaways for the event. Be sure to keep an eye out for more on this sci-fi thriller from Amazon Publishing/47North about archaeologists and astronauts teaming up to avert an epic disaster on earth and in space. Shout-out to Wunderkind PR for the awesome opportunity!

The Bloodsworn by Erin Lindsey– With thanks to Ace Books for this third book of The Bloodboundtrilogy. Trust me when I say this concluding volume is not to be missed. Stay tuned for my review as well as my interview with Erin Lindsey, coming up next week. We’ll even be hosting a giveaway to celebrate the book’s release!

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black– This one’s likely coming along on my road trip too. It’s described as a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller that should appeal to both YA/Adult audiences due to its crossover appeal, and hey, I’m always up for an alien invasion story. Thanks again to Ace Books.

Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey– This was a surprise arrival, so I apologize if my high-pitched squeal of excitement broke a few windows when I opened the package and this ARC came out. I’m a huge fan of Jacqueline Carey, having enjoyed her work in both epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and I’m always curious to see what she does next. Huge thanks to Tor Books!

And more love to the wonderful team at Tor Books for sending me the following finished copies, all surprise arrivals but I definitely want to read every single one! There’s already been plenty of buzz around Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, so I was thrilled to receive this Tor Teen title. I also can’t get over this finished copy of Cloudbound by Fran Wildefeaturing that incredible cover art. I’m seriously digging the new look for these Bone Universe books, and I can’t wait to dive into this sequel. Last but not least is The Family Plot by Cherie Priestwhich I’ve been curious about for a long time. It’s a haunted house book, which makes me think it’ll be perfect for Halloween season, so you can bet I’m lining this one up for next month.

The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood– And speaking of Halloween season reads, earlier in the week I received this book I hadn’t heard about before, though I have several other horror books by Alison Littlewood on my shelf. As soon as I got it though, I went to Goodreads to look it up and oooh, it sounds creepy! Now it’s going on my October TBR too for sure. Thank you, Jo Fletcher Books.

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu– I’d like to thank the lovely folks at Wunderkind PR for sending me this Saga Press title, which of course is the much anticipated sequel to one of my favorite books last year, The Grace of Kings. It is one hefty tome! I’m looking forward to savoring it, though.

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike– I couldn’t help it, but after seeing this book on several blogs, the description of it piqued my interest. So when I saw it pop up on NetGalley, I just had to request. It’s also a horror, translated from the original novel by one of Japan’s most popular horror/mystery writers, so how could I resist? With thanks to Thomas Dunne Books.

Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark– Audiobook, with thanks to Hachette Audio. I love listening to sci-fi books, and I’ve heard so many positive things about this one, including that it’s a fun and easy read. That’s really good to know, since I’m planning to listen to this a lot while I’m on the road, and we all know how a good story can make the hours and miles just fly by.

Cyber World edited by Jason Heller and Joshua Viola– I’m not a big anthology person, but when I was contacted about this collection of stories featuring subjects like cybernetics, neuroscience, transhumanism, nanotechnology, etc. I just had to take a look. Not to mention the author line-up. You have writers like Paolo Bacigalupi, Richard Kadrey, Nisi Shawl, Madeline Ashby, and many, many more. Again, look for further info later this fall during Sci-Fi Month, we’ll have more goodies and a giveaway coming your way. Thank you to Hex Publishing and Beverly Bambury Publicity for the opportunity!

Reviews

Time for a roundup of my reviews since the last update. I reviewed a couple books that didn’t work so well for me, but happily there were also a bunch that did. Ibenustakes top spot as the highlighted book this week. If your tastes in urban fantasy run towards the gritty and the macabre, I highly recommend checking out the Valducan series.

What I’ve Read Since the Last Update

I went on a novella bender this week, with three being considered as quite a binge for me, since I don’t normally read that much short fiction! Here’s some of what I’ll be reviewing very soon.

Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!

That new Carey book seems like a bit of a departure for her, but I guess I also thought the same about a couple of her more recent novels and I still loved them, so who knows! I am definitely pumped as well though 🙂

Ocean of Storms is one I’m on the fence about requesting . . . but I’ll probably give in. I’ve been savoring Wall of Storms for a couple of weeks now, and so far it may be ever better than Grace of Kings.

I only learned about The Hidden People last week myself, when the book showed up. But I agree, it looks interesting and I am planning on checking it out. And yeah, a cyberpunk anthology! I figure I’ll try a bunch; there’s got to be a few I’ll like 😉

One of my writer friends had read an ARC of Vassa In The Night and really enjoyed it. So I look forward to hearing what you think of it as well. 🙂

In terms of my new books… It looks like you saw my Tweets about The Reader, so you know I ADORED it. 😀 I also got Ruta Sepetys’s Salt to the Sea and Victoria Schwab’s This Savage Song as belated birthday gifts, and I’m pretty sure I’ll read the former first. As much as I love fantasy, it’s been a while since I read historical fiction, so Salt to the Sea should be a nice change of pace.

Yet another fabulous haul – HOW do you do it?! hehe I’m most curious about Ninth City Burning, I hope you’ll enjoy it! Hope you’re having a lovely time away and got lots of reading done on the road-trip 😀

I am starting The Graveyard Apartment this week and have been giving some serious consideration to picking up Vassa in the Night. I’ve seen The Hidden People on quite a few blogs and can’t wait to start seeing some reviews!

Some great books on here. Very curious about the Hidden People and will check that one out. The Family Plot was really good I thought – gave me the creeps!
Chasing Embers I think has a lot of potential has a series – I think the author tried to include too much world building in this one – maybe he should have let it build up more slowly but even so a promising start.
Jealous of your Ken Liu book – I have grabby hands for that one!
Enjoy your trip.
Lynn ;D

Ooh, I’m more excited to check out The Family Plot now. And your comments about Chasing Embers actually made me more curious! I think a lot of UF is lacking in world building, so who knows, maybe this one will work! 😀

About Us

Welcome to The BiblioSanctum! A Book Blog for Speculative Fiction, Graphic Novels... and more! Steff (Mogsy), Tiara and Wendy are proud moms, geeks, gamers and bibliophiles. We're always reading and yet, there never seem to be enough books! Our Goodreads lists are an eclectic assortment of genres -- and we love to share our thoughts. The BiblioSanctum is a home for our absolute love of reading.